Warfare marks the debut full-length album by Angrepp, a highly enjoyable Swedish Black and Thrash Metal act. The aggressive music the band plays fits well with their darker lyrical content that seems rather stereotypical for the metal scene today, such as homicide and war, but what more would expect from a band that focuses much of it’s music along the lines of the Thrash aspect moreso, making for an often punishing album that really pulls from aggressive Black Metal vocal style, bridges and even blast beats that adorn this chaotic, and sometimes catchy, album. But is Warfare a fantastic example of what these styles can be like together, or is it just another generic offspring that is done well?

At first glance with a little more then one minute long introduction track, you would assume so. “Intro” starts off with a generic bell-type sound that one would assume with tribal or native chants and dances while low, distorted gun fight goes off in the background. After a few seconds, “Five Honred Formation” blasts right in with some fantastic, yet very angry, Black inspired Thrash Metal. Of course, much of this song, as well as others on the album, has a large focus on Thrash-based riffs throughout, even in the drumming which two stepping can often be heard throughout, however is more noticable in later tracks such as “Legions Arise”, but that doesn’t stop the intensity in any manner, or the progression of including the Black Metal aspect very well. Aside the fast Thrash of this track, the vocals are much harder then your typical Thrash release, bordering a bit on a gutteral style that does manage to pick up in pitch into a more standard Black Metal wail, while the guitars are structured similarly to that style as well while also carrying a very dark atmosphere throughout the album. While “Intro” really does nothing for the album, this song really sets the tone of what to expect from the album, and Angrepp don’t fail to deliver ont hose expectations.

There’s nothing much outstanding about the album, as Warfare is a pretty solid album that doesn’t seem to deviate much from the standard of how albums composed of these two styles usually are. Aside “Fire Horned Formation”, there’s plenty of enjoyable tracks on here that are executed well with great energy, but don’t necessarily offer anything too unique or stand outish. “Legions Arise” comes more as a straight forward Thrash song that continues utilizing the same vocal style that had been established in “Five Horned Formation”. This is mostly in part of the different musical approach that seems to leave much of the Black Metal emphasis behind and focuses moreso on progressing the track through solid two stepping and heavier Thrash riffs. This oddball song is still enjoyable, but everything goes back to the already established sound until “Rape, Kill, Rock N’ Roll” kicks in, which is clearly a more Black Metal oriented track and, aside the Thrash structure of the song, as well as it’s intensity and certain aspects like when the music reverts to simply drums and bass to build up to a closing., then back to a heavier Thrash sound once again on “Firebrand” that actually seems to be the more Crossover Punk/Thrash feel at times, such as the openning music and the chorus.

Unfortunately, around the time of “Fire, Kill, Rock N’ Roll”, Warfare starts to get a little disapointing. The intensity and anger that kick started this album seens to have been lost throughout the tracks to this point, and in the end, this track simply doesn’t have the same fire before it that made the five prior tracks great and worth coming back to after a while, mostly due to feeling out of place really. This song actually feels like more of a mix of later first wave Black Metal, and early second wave, almost like what Darkthrone has been trying to put together lately, except more modern with a much better recording quality. “Firebrand” has it’s moments of enjoyable riffs and intense drumming, but there’s plenty of sections throughout the song that just sound uninspired and as if the band were out of ideas for this album and simply threw some slower, simpler material in between.

Out of all the songs that close off this recording, “For Now I Have Risen” is about the same as the tracks after “Five Horned Formation”, bathed in intense Thrash goodness with a darker, blackened edge to it. Once you hit half way through the song, it will qquickly become your favorite track off the album once the bridge after the first chorus kicks in, and the more melodic Thrash riffs kick in through the gap until that second verse finally hits, and even then madness continues to sue thanks to how short it is. This track will have you moshing where you stand as hard as “Five Horned Formation” had you going. This track honestly should have been the last, as “Dictator” is ok, but is anoher Black Metal heavy song that doesn’t have the same bite as the rest, and even during the chorus slows down to simply a really second and a half of music against another second of silence, which actually gets really aggrivating, mostly because of how much it’s used through the song. As an openning to the track, even a closer, it would work, and the songs has plenty of hard htting moments throughout, especially during some of the bridges, but it’s those gaps that really make this song just not work.

In the end, Warfare is still a highly enjoyable release, but it seems to have some genre confusion at times. The music is often very catchy, and as a whole is very solid, but just treads off into regions that sound good, but just don’t fit in, like “Legions Arise” and “Rape, Kill, Rock N’ Roll”. Tack on the three songs at the end that simply do not have the same bite as the rest of the album, and you have a decent album that can stand on it’s own with some great songs that show a lot of promise from this band, but really needs a little more focus and maturing from the band to better blend these two musical elements together without simply writing songs that jerk you around after a while, whether they are meant as filler, or solid tracks for a professional release.